Title : Ravel: The Complete Solo Piano Music
Author : Maurice Ravel
Release Date : 20020514
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $40.98
Amazon.com Price : $36.99
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Editorial Reviews : Taking time off from her definitive series of J.S. Bach recordings, Angela Hewitt here brings us the complete solo piano music of Ravel. Anyone who wondered whether this seemingly dyed-in-the wool Bachian might stumble should rest assured: this is a stunning double-disc. As Hewitt makes clear in her characteristically illuminating liner notes, Stravinsky's jibe that Ravel was 'only a Swiss clock-maker' was hopelessly off the mark. 'One doesn't need to open one's chest to show that one has a heart,' said Ravel, and in these often understated recordings, one is made to feel his point powerfully. 'Scarbo' is all the more dramatic through the suppressed excitement Hewitt's playing exudes. 'Ondine' and 'Le Gibet' are at once immaculately controlled and intensely atmospheric. In addition to those works most frequently played, we also get rarities, like 'Sérénade grotesque,' written when Ravel was 18, and not published until 1975. As Hewitt points out, Ravel's favorite composer was Mozart, and she plays him with a Mozartean subtlety of nuance.
Buyer Reviews : There isn't one bum note on these two discs. It's obvious Hewitt loves Ravel. She plays all of this music in a remarkable manner. As a matter of fact, the entire presentation, including the notes, is first-rate. If you love Ravel already, pick this up and marvel at it. If you don't know him yet, lucky you--go get this and discover a terrific composer! You couldn't start with a better exponent of his music than Angela Hewitt. Only Louis Lortie is any real competition overall (as a complete survey), in my humble opinion, anyway. Brava, Angela Hewitt.
